Every year on 30 September, Canadians observe National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also recognized as Orange Shirt Day. The day remembers and honours the thousands of Indigenous children and their families who suffered at the hands of the Canadian residential ‘school’ system and those who never returned home.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada published 94 Calls to Action, number 80 of which states, “Public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process”. In addition to supporting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, these Calls to Action are steps toward achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions in Canada.
After years of enforced silence about the atrocities that many experienced passing through this vile system, education on this portion of Canadian history is vital, as is keeping up with progress on the Calls to Action.
To date, the exact number of children who died in these residences is uncertain because of inconsistent bookkeeping and the fact that the search for unmarked graves is ongoing. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimates that at least 4,100–6,000 children never returned home, but that number is likely higher.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada writes that there are likely over 10,000 unmarked burial sites across Canada, as estimated by the Indian Residential School Survivors Society. So far, just 11 of such school sites have been searched.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission states that Canada had 140 federally run residential ‘schools’ operating from 1867 to 1996. These institutions were a partnership between the church and the government, and their purpose was to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian customs. At least 150,000 children passed through these institutions during their 129 years of operation.
Over 6,750 survivors have recorded statements of their experiences to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in a sombre read called ‘The Survivors Speak’. Almost all of them were from people who attended these institutions after 1940.
The book begins by referring to residential schools as an “assault on aboriginal identity” that aimed to wipe out children’s connection to their native culture. A common initial step was to cut braided hair—hair that often held spiritual significance.
Victoria Boucher-Grant, a Fort William, Ontario, residence survivor remembers:
“And they, they took my braids, and they chopped my, they didn’t even cut it, they just, I mean style it or anything, they just took the braid like that, and just cut it straight across. And I remember just crying and crying because it was almost like being violated, you know, like when you’re, when I think about it now it was a violation, like, your, your braids got cut, and it, I don’t know how many years that you spent growing this long hair”.
Aboriginal names were replaced by Westernized names and numbers to identify them. Every student’s number was sewn into their uniform, replacing the homemade, traditional clothing in which they had arrived.
Nellie Ningewance, who went to the Sioux Lookout residence in Ontario in the 1950s and 1960s, recalls:
“They gave us a number and that number was tied in our, in all our clothes; our garments, our jackets, everything was numbered”.
After the initial separation from their parents and siblings, visits were discouraged, and the use of their native language was punished.
Additionally, horrible living conditions with cheaply built infrastructure and poor ventilation turned many schools into breeding grounds for diseases like tuberculosis. Epidemics spread through the schools, and health guidelines were often violated. Parents were seldom notified if their child died of illness or went missing.
Conditions were gruelling. Students were subjected to child labour during the second half of the school day—boys did manual labour and farm work while girls performed domestic duties.
These settings harboured a severely abusive atmosphere where students were beaten, handcuffed, locked in cellars, humiliated and sexually abused, according to overwhelming records from thousands of survivors.
Many documents also state that attending residential schools was the first time these children had been physically disciplined or experienced violence.
Rachel Chakasim, who was at the Fort Albany, Ontario, residential school, said:
I saw violence for the first time. I would see kids getting hit. Sometimes in the classrooms, a yardstick was being used to hit. A nun would hit us. Even though our hair was short as it is, the nuns would grab us by the hair and throw us on the floor of the classroom...We never knew such fear before. It was very scary”.
Prior to attending these institutions, records show that the children had lived happy, simple lives with their families in the bush.
Children were often summoned to residential schools out of the blue via letter to the family, or the RCMP would show up at their doorstep and tell them to pack up their things. If parents refused to send their children to the institutions, they would be sent to jail and charged. Some sent their children reluctantly, thinking it was their only shot at an education. Other children looked forward to going to school and learning English but later grew to hate living in residences and the restrictions on speaking their own language, records show.
Students often arrived at school with no knowledge of English or French, were unable to communicate with teachers, and forbidden from speaking their own language. They would also often be physically punished for not understanding when teachers spoke to them and for not completing assignments due to the language barrier.
In addition to the physical abuse, there were many cases of sexual abuse by the nuns and priests. Children as young as five years old reported being sexually abused by staff at these institutions.
The intergenerational suffering and trauma that this has inflicted on the Indigenous community is still felt. To this day, Indigenous children are overrepresented in the Canadian child welfare system and as victims of crime in Canada.
On 9 February 2024, ‘An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families’ became constitutionally valid, becoming official law in January 2020. It was co-created with Indigenous team members with the aim of reducing the number of Indigenous children in the child welfare system. Currently, over half of all children who pass through foster care in Canada are Indigenous.
According to the Yellowhead Institute’s 2023 annual report, 13 Calls to Action have been fulfilled since 2015. The report found that none had been completed in 2023.
Indigenous Watchdog reported that the federal government is accountable for 76 of the 94 Calls to Action. In December 2023, the government released a statement announcing that 85 per cent of them were complete or well underway, but a breakdown of the list shows different numbers.
As of January 2024, 11 Calls to Action are complete and 39 are in progress, according to standards upheld by Indigenous Watchdog and the Yellowhead Institute. That represents 66 per cent, while about 40 per cent of the other Calls to Action are either stalled or have not yet begun, Indigenous Watchdog writes.
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s annual report rightly states that continuing to educate ourselves on Indigenous struggles throughout Canadian history is part of the path to reconciliation.
Thus, it is important to recognize that 30 September serves as a solemn reminder of the profound injustice endured by Indigenous communities in Canada through the residential school system. It is not just a day of remembrance but a call to action for every Canadian to actively engage in the ongoing journey toward reconciliation. Progress has been made, but many Calls to Action remain unfulfilled, highlighting the work still required. As we reflect on the painful legacy of these institutions, we must continue to educate ourselves, support Indigenous-led initiatives, and hold institutions accountable to ensure that the atrocities of the past are never repeated, and that justice and healing are achieved for future generations.
Edited by Ali Shahrukh Pracha
Public domain portraits (Victoria Boucher-Grant, Nellie Ningewance, Rachel Chakasim) taken from: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). The Survivors Speak: A Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Main photo by Divina Clark on Unsplash
תגובות